Trump says he wants "real end" to Iran's nuclear program
President Trump says he wants "a real end" to Iran's nuclear problem, with Tehran abandoning it "entirely," and not just a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
Speaking on Air Force One after cutting short his time at the G7 summit in the Canadian Rockies, Mr. Trump told reporters, including CBS News senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs that, "I didn't say I was looking for a ceasefire."
Earlier, the president said on his Truth Social platform that, "Publicity seeking President Emmanuel Macron, of France, mistakenly said that I left the G7 Summit, in Canada, to go back to D.C. to work on a "cease fire" between Israel and Iran. Wrong! He has no idea why I am now on my way to Washington, but it certainly has nothing to do with a Cease Fire. Much bigger than that."
Mr. Trump said on Air Force One that he wants "a real end," with Iran "giving up entirely" on its nuclear program.
He predicted that Israel won't be slowing up its barrage on Iran. "You're going to find out over the next two days. You're going to find out. Nobody's slowed up so far," he said.
The president said he'll be in the White House Situation Room Tuesday morning, as opposed to being in Canada, monitoring developments in Middle East. He can be "well versed" in the White House, he noted, and not have to rely on phones to know what's happening.
When asked about his thinking in calling for the evacuation of Tehran, Mr. Trump said he wants "people to be safe."
During his session with reporters on the plane, he sounded undecided about sending special envoy Steve Witkoff or Vice President JD Vance or both to meet with Iranian negotiators. "I may," he said, but "it depends what happens when I get back" to Washington.
Addressing any possible threat to U.S. interests, Mr. Trump said Iran knows not to touch U.S. troops. The U.S. would "come down so hard if they do anything to our people," he warned.
Mr. Trump declined to say if the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Lt. Gen. Dan Caine and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have provided him with options in the event Iran attacks U.S. bases in Middle East. "I can't tell you that," he said.
The president said "we'll be talking to them" when asked if the "Gang of Eight" congressional leaders had been briefed on anything yet. But "it's not necessary," he added.
And when asked if the U.S. would get involved in destroying Iran's nuclear program, he said he hoped it "is wiped out long before that."
Iran is "very close" to having a nuclear weapon, Mr. Trump asserted. "I don't care what she said — I think they were very close to having them," referring to testimony by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in March.
On efforts to help Americans leave the Mideast, with much of the commercial airspace in the region closed, Mr. Trump said the administration is "working on that. We're doing the best we can."
And on any signs of North Korean or Russian involvement in aiding Iran, Mr. Trump said, "I haven't seen it."
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The Hill
32 minutes ago
- The Hill
The Latest: Macron says diplomats in Geneva will offer to negotiate with Iran
Israel and Iran exchanged strikes a week into their war Friday, while new diplomatic efforts appeared to be underway as Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi headed to Geneva for meetings with the European Union's top diplomat and counterparts from the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Israel's military says it carried out airstrikes Friday targeting the areas around Kermanshah and Tabriz in western Iran. The military says 25 fighter jets struck 'missile storage and launch infrastructure components' Friday morning. A week of Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 657 people and wounded 2,037 others, the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists said Friday. Here's the latest: The British government says it is working with Israeli authorities to provide charter flights to evacuate U.K. nationals. The U.K. says the flights will leave from Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv once airspace reopens. The number of flights will depend on demand. Israel has closed the airport 'until further notice' amid its week-old war with Iran, stranding tens of thousands of Israelis abroad, and moved the jets of the country's three airlines to Cyprus. Britain has evacuated family members of embassy staff from Israel but has not advised U.K. nationals in Israel and the Palestinian territories to leave the country. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said that for those who want to leave, land routes out of Israel remain open and British staff will provide support, including transport to nearby airports for onward commercial flights. Hundreds of supporters of the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah gathered in Beirut's southern suburbs after Friday afternoon prayers to demonstrate in support of Tehran in the ongoing Israel-Iran war. Demonstrators carried the Iranian, Lebanese and Palestinian flags as well as that of Hezbollah, and chanted 'death to America' and 'death to Israel.' Some also chanted pledges of allegiance to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is revered as religious authority by many Shiite Muslims. Hezbollah suffered severe losses in a war with Israel that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in November and has so far remained on the sidelines the Iran-Israel war. French President Emmanuel Macron said European top diplomats will make a 'comprehensive, diplomatic and technical offer of negotiation' to Iran in Geneva on Friday as a key response to the 'threat' represented by Iran's nuclear program. 'No one can seriously believe that this threat can be met with (Israel's) current operations alone. Why? Because there are some plants that are highly protected and because today, no one knows exactly where's the uranium enriched to 60%. So we need to regain control on (Iran's nuclear) program through technical expertise and negotiation,' Macron said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot will coordinate with U.K. and German counterparts in Geneva before they meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. 'It's absolutely essential to prioritize a return to substantial negotiations, including nuclear negotiations to move towards zero (uranium) enrichment, ballistic negotiations to limit Iran's activities and capabilities and the financing of all terrorist groups and destabilization of the region that Iran has been carrying out for several years,' Macron insisted. Macron also reiterated his call for Israel's strikes on energy and civilian infrastructures and on civilian populations in Iran to be stopped. 'There's no justification for that,' he said. Thousands of supporters of the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr took to the streets on Friday in Sadr City, on the outskirts of Baghdad, in response to a call by al-Sadr to show support for Iran in its conflict with Israel. The demonstration began after Friday prayers with protesters wearing white burial shrouds in a symbolic gesture of readiness to sacrifice. Some burned Israeli and U.S. flags. The protest comes during escalating regional tensions. Iran-backed Iraqi militias have so far largely stayed out of the fray in the Israel-Iran war but have threatened to attack U.S. forces and interests in Iraq and the region if Washington launches direct attacks on Iran. Italy is organizing special ground convoys and flights to help Italians leave Iran and Israel. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani convened Middle East ambassadors in Rome on Friday to discuss the safety and needs of Italian embassy personnel and other Italians in the region. The foreign ministry said ground convoys were being organized to bring Italians out of Iran to neighboring countries. A special charter flight was scheduled for Sunday to depart from Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt to bring out any Italians from Israel, where the main airport remains closed until further notice. Israel's military said it carried out airstrikes Friday targeting the areas around Kermanshah and Tabriz in western Iran. The military said 25 fighter jets struck 'missile storage and launch infrastructure components' Friday morning. There had been reports of anti-aircraft fire in the areas. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the losses, though it has not discussed the damage done so far to its military in the weeklong war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Moscow is 'extremely concerned' by the tensions in the Middle East. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the annual event designed to showcase Russia's economic prowess and court investors, Peskov said the Middle East 'right now is plunging into the abyss of instability and war.' 'And the war that we are witnessing is fraught with geographic expansion, the involvement of many participants and unpredictable consequences,' Peskov said. 'We are not on the other side of the ocean, this region is directly on our border. And in addition to the fact that this situation inevitably has a negative impact on the global economy, on energy markets and so on, it is, of course, potentially dangerous for us.' Peskov added 'there is always hope and always a possibility for diplomatic efforts,' and stressed Moscow has 'condemned the escalation of violence in the region' and called for a diplomatic settlement of the conflict. He noted, however, that 'for now, Israel's desire is to continue the hostilities, at least that is how they officially declare their intentions.' Iran's capital experienced an unusually quiet weekend on Friday, as many residents had left the capital following the Israeli airstrikes that began last week. Streets were empty with little traffic. Shops stood closed. Those who remain in the city seem to largely be choosing to stay indoors as the war between Israel and Iran continues. Iran's foreign minister says his country is not seeking negotiations with anyone as long as Israel continues its strikes on Iran. 'In the current situation, as the Zionist regime's attacks continue, we are not seeking negotiations with anyone,' said Abbas Araghchi during an interview aired Friday by Iranian state television. He added: 'I believe that as a result of this resistance (by Iran), we will gradually see countries distancing themselves from the aggression carried out by the regime, and calls for ending this war have already begun, and they will only grow stronger.' Spanish citizens who requested to be evacuated from Iran landed safely in Armenia, Spain's Foreign Minister José Albares said Thursday night. They would soon be flown to Spain, Albares said on X. Israeli airstrikes reached into the Iranian city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea early Friday, Iranian media reported. Social media video posted online appeared to show explosions around the city. The semiofficial Fars news agency reported local air defense systems were firing into the night sky against the Israelis. Ahead of the strikes, the Israeli military put out a warning urging the public to flee the area around Rasht's Industrial City, which sits a few kilometers (miles) southwest of the city's downtown. The Israelis did not immediately describe what they sought to destroy in the area. However, with Iran's internet being shut off to the outside world, it was unclear how many people in Iran would be able to see the message. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot spoke by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday evening. A French diplomatic official said Barrot detailed the purposes of the Geneva meeting and Rubio 'stressed the U.S. was ready for direct contact with the Iranians at any time.' The official, who was not allowed to speak publicly on the issue, said they 'jointly stressed the threat posed by Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program to Israel, the region and Europe.' Anti-aircraft batteries began firing Friday morning in Iran's capital, Tehran. It wasn't immediately clear what they were firing at. A key security adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is now in stable condition, a week after being seriously wounded in an Israeli airstrike, a media outlet close to him reported Friday. Nour News quoted Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani as saying: 'I am alive and ready to give my life away.' The International Atomic Energy Agency, in an update Friday, said an Israeli strike at the Arak heavy water reactor also damaged key buildings there, 'including the distillation unit' there. That makes the heavy water at the site. An Iranian aircraft bearing a call sign associated with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is now airborne over Turkey. The Airbus A321 of Meraj Airlines took off from the Turkish city of Van, near the Iranian border, flight-tracking data from FlightRadar24 showed. It bore the call sign IRAN05, which Araghchi uses on his official travel. Iran did not immediately acknowledge his departure, though it typically only does so hours later. Araghchi is due for talks with European diplomats in Geneva on Friday, the first face-to-face negotiations he has conducted since the Israeli airstrikes began June 13. Germany's foreign minister says there is a chance of avoiding further escalation in the conflict if Tehran shows 'serious and transparent readiness' to refrain from developing nuclear weapons. 'It is our commitment once again to undertake a very intensive attempt to dissuade Iran permanently from pursuing such plans,' Johann Wadephul said in a podcast released by broadcaster MDR Friday. 'If there is serious and transparent readiness by Iran to refrain from this, then there is a real chance of preventing a further escalation of this conflict, and for that every conversation makes sense.' Wadephul plans to meet Iran's foreign minister in Geneva Friday along with his French, British and EU counterparts. Wadephul said U.S. officials support the plan to hold talks, 'so I think Iran should now know that it should conduct these talks with a new seriousness and reliability.' The Israeli military said it has destroyed missile systems and radar installations around Isfahan. That corresponds to the sound of anti-aircraft fire heard in the area of Isfahan into Friday morning. Iran has not offered any acknowledgment so far of its military losses in the war. The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Australia say they have closed their embassies in Tehran. The Slovak Foreign Ministry said any remaining diplomats and staffers of the embassy are leaving Iran on Friday. Australia's Foreign Ministry said it was evacuating staff and their families due to the 'deteriorating security environment.' It also urged Australian citizens still in Iran to leave quickly. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and they agreed to work 'closely' to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and to pursue peace. 'There is an opportunity … over the next two weeks for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy,' Wong said from Adelaide on Friday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed claims the U.S. might use nuclear weapons in Iran as 'speculation' in comments to state news agency Tass on Friday morning. 'There is a lot of speculation now,' Tass quoted Peskov as saying. 'Such a turn of events would be catastrophic, but there is so much speculation that it is impossible to really comment on it.' British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the 'situation in the Middle East remains perilous,' after meeting Thursday at the White House with his U.S. counterpart, Marco Rubio, and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff. 'We are determined that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon,' Lammy wrote in a post on X.
CNBC
38 minutes ago
- CNBC
Europe and Iran to hold talks as Trump sets two-week deadline for U.S. strikes decision
Top U.K., France and Germany diplomats are pushing for eleventh-hour diplomacy with Iran in Geneva on Friday, as Washington weighs the possibility of joining Israel's military campaign against Tehran over the next two weeks. Iran and Israel have been trading fire for the past week, in the latest climax of tensions that have been simmering since the Tehran-backed Hamas' terrorist attack against the Jewish state in October 2023. Israel has since been fighting a war on multiple battles against the Palestinian militant group and other Iranian proxies, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and Yemen's Houthi — which Tehran says are acting independently. The conflict has risked further escalation since the start of the week, amid signals that the U.S. — historically a close ally and weapons supplier of Israel — could intervene militarily against Tehran. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," U.S. President Donald Trump said, according to a statement read out on Thursday by White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt. Following a Thursday meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff, U.K. Foreign Minister David Lammy said the three "discussed how a deal could avoid a deepening conflict" and that "a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution." "There is no room for negotiations with the U.S. until Israeli aggression stops," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is expected to attend talks in Geneva, was quoted as saying on Iranian state TV on Friday, according to Reuters. Trump's aversion to Iran's nuclear program has been a central point of his statesmanship across both mandates. The White House leader pulled the U.S. out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) during his first presidency, tightening the noose on Iran's coffers through a string of stringent financial and oil-linked sanctions. Self-proclaimed 'peacemaker' Trump has so far fruitlessly pursued a second nuclear program deal since the start of his second term, initially expressing a preference for a diplomatic breakthrough — the likes of which European officials are now hoping to strike. "In the United States, [there are] many political officials who are convinced that we must not once more make the errors of the past. What we saw in Libya, what we saw in Afghanistan, what we saw in Iraq, we do not want to see reproduced," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a TV interview with French media, according to a CNBC translation. Notably, the U.K., France and Germany — alongside Iran's allies Russia and China — were previously involved in the JCPOA with Washington and Tehran. Markets have been rattled by the possibility of the conflict destabilizing the wider oil-rich Middle East and potentially drawing in the world's largest economy, spurring investors on a flight to safe-haven assets and broader focus on defense companies and initiatives.
UPI
43 minutes ago
- UPI
EU; U.K. hold talks with Iran as clock ticks down on Trump deadline
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot (C-R) arrives for the Europe-Iran summit in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday morning. Photo by Martial Trezzini/EPA-EFE June 20 (UPI) -- The European Union and Britain met for crisis talks with Iran on Friday to try to determine a way out of the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel over Tehran's nuclear development program. The foreign ministers of Germany, France, Britain and the EU's foreign policy chief sat down with their Iranian counterpart in Geneva with the clock ticking, after President Donald Trump set a 14-day deadline Thursday to him to decide on direct U.S. involvement. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the negotiations with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were "aimed at obtaining from Iran a lasting rollback of its nuclear and ballistic missiles programs." British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who flew in overnight from consultations in Washington on Thursday with U.S. Secretary Marco Rubio, said that despite the perilousness of the situation, "we are determined Iran should never have a nuclear weapon." However, he called for all sides to seize the window of opportunity that had opened up. "Now is the time to put a stop to the grave scenes in the Middle East and prevent a regional escalation that would benefit no one," Lammy wrote in a post on X. Trump is considering a plan to join Israeli strikes, which have been underway for seven days, by deploying U.S. bombers to attack underground nuclear facilities using massive bunker-busting guided bombs -- but put the final decision to give diplomacy a chance. "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks," Trump said in a statement. The Geneva summit got underway after another night of back-and-forth attacks between Israel and Iran. Israel Defense Forces said in a update on X that more than 60 of its fighter-jets struck dozens of military targets with more than 100 pieces of ordnance, including missile production facilities in the Tehran area that it described as a "key industrial" hub serving the Iranian Defense Ministry. The IDF also claimed it carried out airstrikes on the Tehran headquarters of defense ministry's research and development program, the SPND agency, which works on leveraging emerging technologies for military applications. Iranian forces struck the southern Israeli city of Beersheeba the second day in a row, injuring seven people and severely damaging buildings after a missile struck a road near high-rise residential blocks, leaving a large crater and setting cars ablaze. The injured were taken to the city's Soroka Hospital, which itself was struck by an Iranian missile on Thursday, injuring 80 people and causing significant damage. The BBC reported blazes near the Microsoft building in Beersheba's Gav-Yam technology park, which Tehran had claimed was the intended target of Thursday's missile strike. An IDF spokesman claimed Iranian forces had planned for Friday's airborne assault on Beersheba to be much larger, but were thwarted after Israeli forces destroyed three missile launchers on the ground in Iran as they were being prepared for use in the attack. Four attack drones launched from Iran were also intercepted overnight, the IDF said. No information was provided on where they were downed or their intended targets.
